Help! Severely henpecked turkey!

[Bbranch]

Hello all, unfortunately my first post here is for an emergency. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have a young (approx 2 years old) male turkey that is very tame and friendly. He was attacked sometime Tuesday morning by a bunch of wild turkeys. They tore out most of the feathers and skin on his back, most of his tail, and some on his neck as well. The section on his back is the most troubling. It is about 12" long from the base of his tail up and at least 8" across. The entire area is open and bloody, with what I suppose to be muscle exposed. When I saw his wound I couldn't believe he was still alive. There is no avian vet nearby but we took him to our regular vet anyway. He prescribed oral antibiotics and an iodine solution to be sprayed directly on the wound. He is at home now and we have him enclosed in a horse stall with a heat lamp in one corner as he seemed cold earlier. He never seemed shocky. He stands, lies down, eats, drinks, and poops. Is there anything else I can do for now?

Thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to help.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm so sorry about your turkey. Poor guy. i'm going to take a leap here and suggest some Blu Kote. It is a germicidal fungicidal wound dressing. It comes in a bottle with a dabber or spray on. i suggest spray on. You can get it at a feed store, generally in the horse section. Or order it online from Murray McMurray or Strombergs. Spray that on the wounds to protect and seal them. i use it on my chickens when they have injuries.

The heat is good, as a sick animal doesn't have the strength to keep itself warm. The heat will relieve the body of that task so it can focus on healing. You may want to provide him with some mashed hard boiled eggs for extra protein. It's good he's eating and drinking, that's a great sign.

i'm a little surprised the vet didn't prescribe some metacam for the pain. Our vet always does in any case our animals might be experiencing pain. Constant pain will inhibit the healing process, plus it's no fun for your poor turkey. Maybe call your vet and request some? If they treat cats or dogs they should be familiar with that medicine.

 

[chickenzoo]

Some pain meds can not be used on poultry... perhaps that is why? Good that he is eating, drinking and pooing, also glad you gave him a heat source. I agree with above post, keep up supportive care.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Yikes! You didn't have the picture posted last night. That was some serious attack! The poor guy.

Oh, chickenzoo, my vets have prescribed the metacam for my cats and also my chickens. It's supposed to be super safe. Never had it for my turkeys, though.

i wonder if some aspirin in the water would help? i've never used it on my poultry but others have - i just don't know the dosage. But a search on "aspirin" under this topic heading might find a post with details on how much to add to water.

 

[Bbranch]

Thank you both! I will ask my vet today about metacam, or another option for pain relief. He seems really strong right now so we're praying he makes it. I will also look into the blu-kote, which was also recommended by a friend who has several chickens. And yes, I added the pictures so anyone that may be able to help can see how severe it is. It does look terrible, but again I'm praying it looks worse than it really is.

Thanks again, I will keep you posted on his progress.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Poor baby. I hope that he is ok.

 

[mypicklebird]

x2
Unless you plan to eat him later- your vet can prescribe pain meds & antibiotics liberally. It is when there is the possibility of meat or egg withdrawal times, some vets get nervous about prescribing things off label. If they rx's antibiotics though, they are not too worried about that. There are several pain meds that can be used with poultry (including metacam/meloxicam), and we all know that back HURTS!

Keep him indoors, warm, safe, clean. Ask the vet about silver sulfa cream too- it will help keep the exposed tissues moist & in birds promotes granulation tissue. Granulex might be helpful too. If this was my bird, I would attempt to cover the damaged tissues with a sugar bandage/wet to dry for several days to draw out the infection. Vet can help you with this as well- at least demo the first time.




Quote:

 

[mypicklebird]

If you get the metacam, do NOT use aspirin at the same time.

Quote:

 

[PepsNick]

Not sure but good luck! Hang in there!

 

[KellyHM]

One of my hens got ripped open by one of the toms last year like that. It wasn't quite as bad, but still pretty grisly. I kept the wounds coated so the flies would stay away and she made a full recovery. Good luck!